Suggesting content items to be accessed by a user

ABSTRACT

A client application sends an application programming interface call to an interface of a content management system. The call specifies one or more content item search criteria. Sending the call causes the content management system to perform a lookup in a content item index to identify at least one content item that satisfies the one or more content item search criteria. Based on sending the call, the client application receives from the content management system a suggestion to attach the at least one content item to a text being displayed by at the computing system.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/569,833, filed on Sep. 13, 2019, which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 15/639,901, filed on Jun. 30, 2017 whichissued as U.S. Pat. No. 10,474,634, which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 13/777,205, filed on Feb. 26, 2013. Each ofthe aforementioned applications is hereby incorporated by reference inits entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosed embodiments generally relate to online content managementsystems. More specifically, the disclosed embodiments relate to a searchinterface that facilitates searching an online content management systemand possibly other storage repositories for content items associatedwith a user.

BACKGROUND

Users often store content items, such as files or photographs, in asynced, online content management system, such as the Dropbox™ service,which is offered by Dropbox, Inc. of San Francisco, California. In manycases, it is useful for an application that is being operated by a userto be able to access these content items. For example, an email clientmay be asked by a user to attach a content item to an email message.Unfortunately, no way presently exists for such an email client toobtain information about content items associated with the user. So, atpresent, the user must manually navigate through a file system to locatea content item to attach to an email message instead of simply beingpresented with a list of content items that belong to the user.

Hence, what is needed is a mechanism that allows applications to obtaininformation about content items that belong to a user.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a content management environment in accordance with thedisclosed embodiments.

FIG. 2 shows how a per-user index that is accessed through an API can beused to obtain information about content items associated with a user inaccordance with the disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 3 presents a flow chart illustrating the process of using theper-user index to obtain information about content items associated witha user in accordance with the disclosed embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description is presented to enable any person skilled inthe art to make and use the present embodiments, and is provided in thecontext of a particular application and its requirements. Variousmodifications to the disclosed embodiments will be readily apparent tothose skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein maybe applied to other embodiments and applications without departing fromthe spirit and scope of the present embodiments. Thus, the presentembodiments are not limited to the embodiments shown, but are to beaccorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and featuresdisclosed herein.

The data structures and code described in this detailed description aretypically stored on a computer-readable storage medium, which may be anydevice or medium that can store code and/or data for use by a computersystem. The computer-readable storage medium includes, but is notlimited to, volatile memory, non-volatile memory, magnetic and opticalstorage devices such as disk drives, magnetic tape, CDs (compact discs),DVDs (digital versatile discs or digital video discs), or other mediacapable of storing computer-readable media now known or later developed.

The methods and processes described in the detailed description sectioncan be embodied as code and/or data, which can be stored in acomputer-readable storage medium as described above. When a computersystem reads and executes the code and/or data stored on thecomputer-readable storage medium, the computer system performs themethods and processes embodied as data structures and code and storedwithin the computer-readable storage medium. Furthermore, the methodsand processes described below can be included in hardware modules. Forexample, the hardware modules can include, but are not limited to,application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) chips, field-programmablegate arrays (FPGAs), and other programmable-logic devices now known orlater developed. When the hardware modules are activated, the hardwaremodules perform the methods and processes included within the hardwaremodules.

General Overview

The disclosed embodiments provide a system that facilitates searching anonline content management system for content items associated with auser. During operation, the system receives a call from a clientapplication at a search interface in the online content managementsystem, wherein the client application is operating on behalf of theuser. In response to the call, the system performs a lookup in aper-user index within the online content management system, wherein theper-user index facilitates looking up information about content itemsassociated with the user in the online content management system. Thesystem then returns the information obtained during the lookup to theclient application. The client application can then use the retrievedinformation to facilitate an interaction between the client applicationand the user.

Content Management Computing Environment

FIG. 1 shows content management environment 105 according to variousembodiments. The exemplary embodiment of content management environment105 shown in FIG. 1 includes a messaging-system server 113 andassociated messaging-system clients 116A-116B for sending content itemsas message attachments. Note that the messaging system comprisingmessaging-system server 113 and messaging system clients 116A-116B caninclude an email system, a text-messaging system or an instant-messagingsystem, or more generally any type of system that facilitates sendingelectronic messages between users. As may be understood from FIG. 1 ,content management environment 105 includes a plurality of clientdevices 110A and 110B (collectively 110), a messaging-system server 113(which resides on a messaging-system server host 140 and is associatedwith an messaging-system data store 129) and an online contentmanagement system 120 (also referred to as a “content managementsystem”), which are all interconnected by one or more networks 118.Various aspects of the client devices 110, messaging-system server 113and content management system 120 are discussed below.

In various embodiments, each client device 110 may selectively execute acontent-management client application 112A and 112B (collectively 112)(also referred to as a “content-management client”), which may be usedto manage content items (such as files) stored within a contentmanagement system 120. Note that, in some embodiments, synchronizedcopies of content items 114A and 114B may be kept on both contentmanagement system 120 and each respective client device 110. In someembodiments, client devices 110 may provide a file-browser typeinterface (not shown) for directly manipulating the content items storedon content management system 120 without maintaining a local copy.Client devices 110 may also include messaging-system clients 116A and116B (collectively 116) for receiving and sending messages associatedwith messaging-system server 113. Note that these messaging-systemclients 116A and 116B can be web-based or native-client-basedmessaging-system clients.

While only two client devices 110A and 110B are shown in FIG. 1 forpurposes of clarity, it should be understood by those skilled in therelevant field that many client devices 110A and 110B may simultaneouslyconnect through network(s) 118 to messaging-system server 113 andcontent management system 120 at any given time. Examples of suitableclient devices 110 include, but are not limited to, a desktop computer;mobile computing devices, such as a laptop or a tablet; and handhelddevices, such as a smartphone (e.g., an IPHONE®, BLACKBERRY®, orANDROID™-based smartphone). Each client device 110 may store a local,synced copy of one or more content items from within content managementsystem 120, and the content items may be stored in any suitable format.When content-management client 112 presents content items that arestored within the file storage system to a user, the content items maybe arranged in folders and the folders themselves may be arranged inother folders, or in any other arbitrary arrangement supported bycontent management system 120, as determined by the user. However, oneof skill in the art should understand in light of this disclosure thateach user's file storage architecture may be considerably different fromthe next, and in some instances, the file storage architecture may beimplemented to maximize storage and file retrieval efficiency.

Content management system 120 stores content items and manages access tothose content items via client devices 110. Content management system120 and its components may be implemented using any appropriate hardwareand software for content item serving, storage, and retrieval functions.For example, content management system 120 may be implemented in theform of a single server or multiple servers.

In various embodiments, content management system 120 includes interfacemodule 122, account module 124, widget-code-generation module 126,upload module 127, and data store 128. Some of these elements of contentmanagement system 120 are discussed below.

In particular embodiments, interface module 122 may facilitate contentitem access and content item storage between content management system120 and client devices 110. Interface module 122 may receive contentitems from and send content items to client devices 110 consistent withthe user's preferences for sharing content items. Interface module 122may act as the counterpart to a client-side file-explorer style userinterface that allows a user to manipulate content items directly storedon content management system 120. In some embodiments, softwareoperating on client devices 110 may integrate network-stored contentitems with the client's local file system to enable a user to manipulatenetwork-stored content items through the same user interface (UI) usedto manipulate content items on the local file system, e.g., via a fileexplorer, file finder or browser application. As an alternative orsupplement to the client-side file-explorer interface, interface module122 may provide a web interface for client devices 110 to access (e.g.,via a suitable messaging-system client 116) and allow a user tomanipulate content items stored within content management system 120. Inthis way, the user can directly manipulate content items stored withincontent management system 120.

In various embodiments, data store 128 may store content items such asthose uploaded using client devices 110, or using any other suitablecomputing device. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1 , clientdevice 110A that is associated with a first user, is shown as locallystoring at least one content item 114A, and client device 110B that isassociated with a second user, is shown as locally storing at least onecontent item 114B. As shown in FIG. 1 , copies of the locally storedcontent items are maintained in data store 128 of content managementsystem 120.

In various embodiments, data store 128 may maintain informationidentifying the user, information describing the user's file directory,and other information in a file journal that is maintained for eachuser. In some embodiments, the file journal may be maintained on contentmanagement system 120, and in other embodiments, a file journal (e.g., a“server-side file journal”) may be maintained on both content managementsystem 120 and locally on each client device 110. In variousembodiments, the file journal may be used to facilitate thesynchronization of the various copies of a particular content item thatare associated with a user's account.

As a particular example, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 , the systemmay be configured so that any changes that are made to content item 114Aon particular client device 110A may also be automatically reflected inthe copy of content item 114A stored within content management system120. Similarly, any changes that are made to content item 114A oncontent management system 120 may also be automatically reflected in thecopy of content item 114A stored on client device 110A.

In particular embodiments, account module 124 may track content itemsstored in data store 128 and entries in the server-side file journal foreach content item. As users grant file access permissions to otherusers, account module 124 may update the server-side file journalassociated with each relevant user in data store 128. Account module 124may also track client devices 110 that are associated with each user'saccount. For example, a user may want to share all their content itemsbetween their desktop computer, tablet computer, and mobile device. Tomake such a sharing arrangement seamless to the user, the user's singleaccount on content management system 120 may be associated with each ofthe user's respective client devices. In some embodiments, anapplication running on each respective client device 110 may help tocoordinate synchronization of content items on the client device withcorresponding versions of the content items within the user's account incontent management system 120, and also with corresponding versions ofthe content items stored on the user's various other client devices.

In particular embodiments, widget-code-generation module 126 may beconfigured to generate code that may be used to create anmessage-attachment widget on a remote messaging-system client. Inparticular embodiments, this code may be HTML code that may be pastedinto a messaging-system client to create the message-attachment widget.In other embodiments, the code may be program code that is integratedinto a native-client-based messaging system. In particular embodiments,the message-attachment widget may include: (1) a button that may be usedto select one or more attachments from a user's messaging-system client;and (2) code to facilitate the upload of the selected attachmentsdirectly from the messaging-system client to content management system120. Also, in particular embodiments, the message-attachment widget mayinclude: (1) a button that may be used to activate a file-selectioninterface to select a content item to be attached to a message; and (2)code to facilitate including a link to the selected content item in themessage.

Search Interface

FIG. 2 shows how a per-user index 210 that is accessed through anapplication-programming interface (API) 208 can be used to obtaininformation about content items associated with a user in accordancewith the disclosed embodiments. As is illustrated in FIG. 2 , a user 202interacts with a client application 204. During this process, clientapplication 204 makes a call 206 to an interface 208, which is exposedby the online content management system 120. For example, the interface208 can include an API that provides a search function. A call to thissearch function can include a number of parameters, such as a useridentifier, or one or more keywords and associated logical operators.The parameters can also specify a ranking function to determine anordering for the search results, as well as a result limit that limitsthe number of search results that are displayed. The API can alsoprovide functionality that enables the online content management systemto authenticate the client application 204 as operating on behalf of theuser. This functionality can be in the form of a special API call thatclient application 204 makes to authenticate itself with online contentmanagement system 120, or the authentication functionality can beintegrated into the search function itself.

Upon receiving the call 206, and after client application 204 isoptionally authenticated, interface 208 queries the per-user index 210on behalf of client application 204. Note that per-user index 210 isstructured to look up content items, such as files, photos and videoclips on behalf of user 202. Hence, per-user index 210 can include acollection of indices, wherein each index references content itemsassociated with a different user, and wherein a “user identifier” can beused to select a specific index (or a set of indices) associated witheach user. Moreover, each index may facilitate looking up a keyword (ora logical combination of keywords) in entries for content itemsassociated with a user.

In some embodiments, each index contains metadata about content itemsassociated with each user. For a given content item, this metadata caninclude: (1) a name for the content item, such as a file name, (2) acreation date for the content item, (3) an identifier for an owner ofthe content item, (4) a last modification date for the content item, (5)a modification history for the content item, (6) a size of the contentitem, (7) a file type for the content item, (8) a pointer (or index) tothe content item, which can be used to retrieve the content item, (9) afile system permission for the content item, such as “read-write” or“read-only”, (10) keywords to facilitate searches for the content item,(11) a list of users associated with the content item, (12) anexpiration date for the content item, (13) security related informationfor the content item, such as a password or an encryption key that isrequired to access the content item (this security-related informationcan be stored in encrypted form), and (14) statistics on how frequentlythe content item has been accessed (for example, if the content item isa video, how often the video has been played). In other embodiments,per-user index 210 can index the data within each content item tofacilitate looking up content items containing specific words.

In some embodiments, each per-user index covers a user's content itemsthat are stored in online content management system 120. This includescontent items that are stored in an online server in online contentmanagement system 120, as well as replicated copies of content itemsstored on various computing devices that belong to the user, such as adesktop system 214, a laptop system 216, and a smartphone 218, and ashared folder 219 that is shared with one or more other users.

Client application 204 can also make calls to other functions ininterface 208 to manage content items associated with per-user index210. For example, client application 204 can call a function ininterface 208 to add a content item to per-user index 210. Theparameters of this call can include metadata for the content item aswell as a pointer (e.g., a URL) to the content item. Note that clientapplication 204 can automatically add content items to per-user index210 whenever the user accesses a new content item. Client application204 can also make a call through interface 208 to modify an entry for agiven content item whenever the user modifies the content item. Forexample, if the content item is a document and the user adds text to thedocument, client application 204 can modify the metadata for thedocument that is stored in per-user index 210 to indicate that the sizeof the document has increased. Client application 204 can also make acall through interface 208 to delete a content item from the per-userindex. For example, client application 204 can automatically delete acontent item from per-user index if the user does not access the contentitem for a predetermined period of time, say 3 months.

As illustrated in FIG. 2 , each per-user index also covers “externalcontent items” stored in external storage repositories 220-222associated with the user that are located outside of online contentmanagement system 120. For example, these external storage repositories220-222 can include one or more hard drives belonging to the user and/ordirectories associated with the user located on one or more externalfile servers. In one scenario, an application associated with the user(such as client application 204) can automatically make a call throughto interface 208 to add an entry for an external content item to theper-user index 210 when the user accesses the external content items.

Per-user index 210 can also cover shared content items. For example, asmentioned above, per-user index 210 can cover one or more shared foldersthat are shared among users who are members of a team of collaboratingusers. Per-user index 210 may also contain a “shared index” that isshared among a team of collaborating users. This shared index can beused to access shared content items that belong to the team ofcollaborating users, even though the content items may or may not belocated in the same shared directory. In this case, online contentmanagement system 120 can include a mechanism for granting access toindividual members of the team to allow them to access the sharedcontent items.

For a given user, per-user index 210 may also contain a “personal index”for personal content items, such as photographs, and a separate“business-related index” for business-related content items, such aswork-related documents.

In some embodiments per-user index 210 is implemented as a relationaldatabase table for a given user, wherein the table includes a row foreach content item that belongs to the user and a column for eachmetadata attribute. A separate index can be created for each column inthe relational table to facilitate rapidly searching for specificattributes in the column. In some embodiments, per-user index 210comprises a set of hash tables, wherein each hash table is configured tofacilitate rapid lookups for a different metadata attribute for thecontent items associated with the user.

Example Process

FIG. 3 presents a flow chart illustrating the process of using aper-user index 210 to obtain information about content items that belongto a user 202 in accordance with the disclosed embodiments. First, aclient application 204, such as an email client or a browser that isoperating on behalf of user 202, makes a call 206 to search API 208 inonline content management system 120 (step 302). For example, clientapplication 204 can call a search function in the search API 208providing an identifier for user 202 as a parameter.

Next, search API 208 at the online content management system 120receives the call 206 and authenticates client application 204 asoperating on behalf of user 202 (step 304). This authentication processcan involve first receiving credentials for user 202 from clientapplication 204, wherein the credentials can include a username andpassword, a digital certificate, or a live session token. Next, theauthentication process involves verifying that the credentials arevalid.

Once client application 204 has been authenticated, search API 208accesses per-user index 210 to look up information about content itemsassociated with user 202 that are located in the online contentmanagement system 120 and/or in other storage repositories 220-222related to user 202 (step 306). The information obtained from per-userindex 210 can include a full or partial list of content items associatedwith user 202 in online content management system 120. Morespecifically, call 206 through search API 208 can include: a useridentifier, search criteria, a ranking function for the search results,and a limit for the number of search results returned. For example, thesearch criteria can indicate that the search is targeted to music files,the ranking function can be based on the number times each music filehas been accessed by the user, and the number of search results returnedcan be limited to 25. This call causes online content management system120 to access per-user index 210 to lookup at all music files associatedwith the user. The returned results are then sorted by the number oftimes each music file has been accessed by the user. Finally, the top 25most-accessed files are returned to client application 204. Clientapplication 204 can then use these results to suggest music files forthe user to play.

Next, search API 208 returns the information about the content items toclient application 204 (step 308). Client application 204 then uses theinformation to facilitate an interaction with user 202 (step 310). Ingeneral, the returned information includes content items that belong tothe user and that satisfy the specified search criteria. Moreover, thereturned content items can be ranked based on a ranking function thatspecifies a ranking criterion for the search results. Client application204 can use the returned list of content items to make suggestions forcontent items to be accessed by the user. In one case, an emailapplication can suggest content items to attach to an email message. Forexample, if a user types “here is the latest version of the SalesBrochure” into an email message, the email client can use thisinformation to search through the user's content items to suggest thatthe user attach a file labeled “SalesBrochure.doc” to the email message.In another example, if the user activates a button to include anattachment to the email message, the email application can pop up awindow listing the most recently edited files as suggestions for anattachment.

In another case, a browser serves up targeted advertisements to the userbased on attributes of the user's content items. For example, if a useris operating a web browser and the user stores a PDF printout of anairline ticket to Hawaii in a folder within content management system120, the browser can use the search API to find the airline ticket toHawaii and can run a targeted advertisement for a hotel in Hawaii insidethe browser. Note that content items which are stored within contentmanagement system 120 by a user can be automatically indexed to appearin per-user index 210.

Also note that the gathering and use of data from various sources mayimprove the quality of targeted advertising. In some instances, the datamay include personal information, which could enable more controlledand/or limited delivery of advertising content. Nonetheless, anycollection, analysis, disclosure, transfer, storage, or other use ofsuch personal information should comply with or exceed the best knownprivacy and security policies and practices. For example, personalinformation is preferably only collected for legitimate and reasonableuses and should not shared or sold outside of those legitimate uses. Inaddition, users may be able to selectively block the use of, or accessto, personal information, through hardware and/or software elements.

Moreover, although the present disclosure contemplates the use ofpersonal information to implement various embodiments, some embodimentscan be implemented without the need for accessing such personalinformation. For example, content can be selected and delivered to usersby inferring preferences based on non-personal information data or abare minimum amount of personal information.

In another example, while a user is sending a text message to a friend,the user might activate a user interface element within thetext-messaging application to add a picture to the text message. In thisexample, the text-messaging application can use the per-user index 210to search for pictures which include the friend, and can present thesepictures as suggestions to include in the text message. Morespecifically, the search through per-user index 210 can look forpictures which are tagged with an identifier for the friend, and thetext-messaging application can present thumbnails of these pictures aspossible attachments to the text message.

In another example, a document-editing application can perform a searchusing per-user index 210 to suggest documents to edit. This search canlook for documents associated with the user, and can return a list ofsuch documents which are ranked based on how frequently each documenthas been edited within the last week by the user. The document-editingapplication can then present this list to the user as possible documentsto edit.

In yet another example, online content-management system 120 can useper-user index 210 to make suggestions on how to reorganize documentswithin online content management system 120. For example, online contentmanagement system 120 can use per-user index 210 to perform a searchthrough the user's content items to identify content items which havebeen accessed by multiple users. Online content management system 120can then suggest that these content items be moved to a shared folder ora shared directory within online content management system 120. Inanother case, online content management system 120 can perform a searchusing per-user index 210 to identify content items which have not beenaccessed for more than one year, and can suggest that the user movethese content items from online content management system 120 to sometype of archival storage.

The foregoing descriptions of embodiments have been presented forpurposes of illustration and description only. They are not intended tobe exhaustive or to limit the present description to the formsdisclosed. Accordingly, many modifications and variations will beapparent to practitioners skilled in the art. Additionally, the abovedisclosure is not intended to limit the present description. The scopeof the present description is defined by the appended claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A computing system comprising: at least oneprocessor; and at least one non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium storing instructions that, when executed by the at least oneprocessor, cause the computing system to: monitor user activity within aclient application associated with a first system that is separate froma content management system, wherein the user activity comprises a userinput to be used within the first system; send, from the clientapplication to the content management system during the user activitywithin the client application, an application programming interface(API) call, the API call based on the user activity within the clientapplication and comprising content item search criteria based on theuser input to be used within the first system, wherein the API callcomprising the content item search criteria causes the contentmanagement system to perform a search in a user-specific content itemindex to identify a content item associated with a user account, whereinthe user-specific content item index references content items associatedwith the user account; receive, at the client application, an indicationof the content item based on the content item satisfying the contentitem search criteria; and provide, by the client application, asuggestion to access the content item from the content management systemusing the client application associated with the first system.
 2. Thecomputing system of claim 1, further comprising instructions that, whenexecuted by the at least one processor, cause the computing system togenerate the content item search criteria based on the user activitywithin the client application.
 3. The computing system of claim 2,wherein the user activity comprises composing text or interacting with agraphical user interface button.
 4. The computing system of claim 1,wherein the API call further comprises a user identifier that causes thecontent management system to perform the search in the user-specificcontent item index.
 5. The computing system of claim 1, whereinproviding the suggestion to access the content item using the clientapplication comprises displaying a name of the content item within agraphical user interface of the client application.
 6. The computingsystem of claim 1, further comprising instructions that, when executedby the at least one processor, cause the computing system to provide, bythe client application, an authentication API call to the contentmanagement system, the authentication API call comprising usercredentials associated with the user account, wherein the user accountis on the content management system, and wherein the authentication APIcall causes the content management system to authenticate the clientapplication with the user account.
 7. The computing system of claim 1,wherein the client application is one of an electronic messagingapplication, an email application, a web browser application, or atexting application.
 8. A computer-implemented method comprising:monitoring user activity within a client application associated with afirst system that is separate from a content management system, whereinthe user activity comprises a user input to be used within the firstsystem; sending, from the client application to the content managementsystem during the user activity within the client application, anapplication programming interface (API) call, the API call based on theuser activity within the client application and comprising content itemsearch criteria based on the user input to be used within the firstsystem, wherein the API call comprising the content item search criteriacauses the content management system to perform a search in auser-specific content item index to identify a content item associatedwith a user account, wherein the user-specific content item indexreferences content items associated with the user account; receiving, atthe client application, a name of the content item based on the contentitem satisfying the content item search criteria; and providing, by theclient application, a suggestion to access the content item from thecontent management system using the client application associated withthe first system, the suggestion comprising the name of the contentitem.
 9. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, further comprisinggenerating the content item search criteria based in part on a messagebeing composed within the client application.
 10. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein the client applicationis one of an electronic messaging application, an email application, aweb browser application, or a texting application.
 11. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 8, further comprising initiatingthe API call comprising the content item search criteria based on a userinteraction with a graphical user interface button.
 12. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein the API call furthercomprises a user identifier that causes the content management system toperform the search in the user-specific content item index, and whereinthe user-specific content item index is within the content managementsystem.
 13. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, furthercomprising authenticating the client application with the user account,wherein the user account is on the content management system.
 14. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein the content item searchcriteria indicate a ranking function indicating a preference forrecently accessed content items within the user-specific content itemindex.
 15. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, furthercomprising: identifying keywords based on user-composed text within theclient application; and wherein the content item search criteriacomprise the keywords.
 16. A non-transitory computer-readable mediumstoring instructions thereon that, when executed by at least oneprocessor, cause a computing device to: monitor user activity within aclient application associated with a first system that is separate froma content management system, wherein the user activity comprises a userinput to be used within the first system; send, from the clientapplication to the content management system during the user activitywithin the client application, an application programming interface(API) call, the API call based on the user activity within the clientapplication and comprising content item search criteria based on theuser input to be used within the first system, wherein the API callcomprising the content item search criteria causes the contentmanagement system to perform a search in a user-specific content itemindex to identify a content item associated with a user account, whereinthe user-specific content item index references content items associatedwith the user account; receive, at the client application, an indicationof the content item based on the content item satisfying the contentitem search criteria; and provide, by the client application, asuggestion to access the content item from the content management systemusing the client application associated with the first system.
 17. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the APIcall further comprises a user identifier that causes the contentmanagement system to perform the search in the user-specific contentitem index.
 18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16,further comprising instructions that, when executed by the at least oneprocessor, cause the computing device to generate the content itemsearch criteria based on the user activity within the clientapplication.
 19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim16, wherein the user activity comprises composing text or interactingwith a graphical user interface button.
 20. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 16, further comprising instructionsthat, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the computingdevice to attach the content item to an electronic message beingcomposed within the client application based on detecting a user inputindicating an acceptance of the suggestion to access the content item.